Thursday, February 26, 2015

#RaggisRejects Magic Items

A pair of magic items rejected for the Lamentations of the Flame Princess referee book project. Use as you like in your home campaign . . . but be careful! Please contact me directly if you wish to use either of these in a publication for which you are being paid or might be paid. Proper attribution is appreciated. Critiques are welcome. Enjoy! No, that's not really the word, now, is it???

Crown of Thought

Overview: Historically, nothing is known about the manufacture of the so called "Crown of Thought" or who first wore it. Some scholars have noted that portrayals of the crown appear in tapestries and manuscripts throughout history, but these so-called scholars are of the garden variety, with little or no academic training. Their writings on the crown, which describe it as an "artifact of great renown and terror" and "an uncontrollable vice," should be viewed with caution. Though it is true that some historical representations of the crown generally pre-date a certain eccentricity on the part of the wearer, the chronological appearance of the artifact and subsequent neuroses of the wearer does not guarantee causation, as the data are of a small scale and quite obscure. More research is required.

Physical Appearance: The Crown of Thought appears to be a poorly wrought crown made of dark iron. It is composed of a series of sharp spikes that ascend in height on either side as one rounds the crown toward the front, where a single spike, 12" in height, surmounts the piece. Some of these spikes are bent, as if the crown had been dropped form a height or thrown against a wall. Indeed, dents, gouges, and scratches are plentiful and its dark patina give the object the air of something of little worth. The inside of the crown is worn smooth and shiny, ostensibly from previous owners having worn it. Two initials, "HB" are stamped on the rear, inside face, where the crown would touch the back of the wearer's head. The provenience of the initials are unknown.

Effects: When the Crown of Thought is first donned, the wearer feels a sense of clarity of thought, an awakeness and awareness beyond that of the everyday. If the wearer continues to keep the crown on, he or she will feel his or her thoughts "reach out" after a few hours of wearing the crown. Within a day, the wearer will gain the ability, once per day, to use an effect equivalent to that of an ESP spell. After a number of uses equal to the wearer's intelligence ability score, the crown, if used again, will reveal to the target the thoughts of the wearer - i.e., the wearer's intent in reading the target's thoughts. The target will know that the wearer is trying to read his or her thoughts. Reactions toward the wearer will be based on the target's personality.

If the wearer insists on using the crown again, it will "reach out" to two different people's thoughts at once: the desired target's, and another person or creature within range, as randomly determined by the referee. The sudden input of two sets of thoughts will affect the wearer as if affected by a Confusion spell. If the wearer persists in using the crown a third time, the next instance of use will result in his or her being affected by Feeblemind. If the wearer successfully saves versus magic, the ESP will succeed, as normal. At this point, the wearer will develop a powerful addiction to using the crown's powers for the most trivial of matters. Each time the wearer does use the Crown of Thought, he or she must save versus magic. Again, if the save is successful, the wearer can continue to scrye the thoughts of those within range. But any failure to save results in the effects of a Feeblemind spell.

Green Drink

This item appears as a thick, bright green liquid in a glass flask to which a tag is attached. The tag reads "Green Drink".

Anyone imbibing the Green Drink (even a sip will do) immediately feels very thirsty. Within one turn, the drinker's skin will have turned green and harder, as if calloused. The drinker will feel not only an insatiable thirst, but the need for water all over his or her body and the need for sunlight. If the drinker fails to be entirely doused in water twice a day, he or she will suffer as if he or she had gone without water for one full day. Furthermore, the drinker must also get 5 full hours of sunlight per day or suffer starvation effects (save versus Poison or lose 1 point of constitution). These effects are cumulative and last until the next autumn, regardless of when the effect began. When autumn arrives, the spellcaster sheds all of his or her hair and several layers of skin, with the skin color returning to normal at that time. After the green skin is shed, there is no further need to be doused or receive the 5 hours of sunlight, though any constitution loss is permanent.

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Forrest Aguirre

Among other things, Forrest Aguirre writes fiction. Forrest's novel, Heraclix & Pomp, is available from Resurrection House. You can find more of his work at Smashwords and Amazon or connect with him on Twitter and Tumblr. His work has appeared in over 50 venues including Asimov's, Gargoyle, Apex Magazine, and American Letters & Commentary and in such anthologies as Polyphony and Paper Cities. Forrest is also an avid tabletop role-playing gamer, having been first introduced to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons back in 1978, when he was a wee lad. He lives, writes, and games in Madison, Wisconsin.